Planning a Shopping Trip in Paris

Known as the Capital of Fashion, Paris is home to the world's latest and most sought after designs and cosmetics.  From this year's handbags to cutting edge wrinkle cream, Paris is the place to plan your shopping spree this year if you want to get ahead of the masses.  But where do you begin?

First you should choose an airport.  Though France has a plethora of fantastic airports in cities where you could begin a nice shopping/road trip such as Marseille Airport, but I will just focus on the two main airports serving Paris which are Charles de Gaulle and Paris Orly.

Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport is located 25 km northeast of Paris.  It's the larger and busier of the two, but thats hardly a noticeable factor.  Charles de Gaulle is fast and efficient and well connected to the city by major roadways.  Paris Orly Airport is located a bit closer, 13 km south of Paris.  Though it doesn't host as many international connections as Charles de Gaulle, you can get a flight into Paris Orly from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, and North America, among other popular destinations.  Basically, either airport makes for a fair gateway into the city and you can arrange for your car rental to await your arrival at either airport so ticket prices and availability may be your best deciding factors.

Which brings us to ground transportation.  Any well planned trip begins with the right ride.  While it's tempting to reserve a luxury car hire for your shopping trip since online prices are so cheap, consider your activities and purchases.  Most luxury cars do have sizable trunks and are great for clothes and cosmetics, but what about the flea markets?  Some antiques just can't be passed up, and if you're traveling with friends or family you don't want to have the back seat passengers piled with purchases.

Consider a 7 seater car rental from Paris Orly Airport or Charles de Gaulle.  Today's 7 seaters are much more maneuverable and fuel efficient than the minivans of yester-year.  With the Volkswagen Touran for example, you can remove seats individually, making it easy for 6 friends with a little extra space for shopping bags.  In the Ford Galaxy car hire the entire rear bench seat comes out.  While this only leaves you with 5 seats, you can carry quite a few French retro home decor items, and why do you need to bring more than 4 friends anyway?